Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan has publicly criticised the White House after his song "American Cars" was used, without his permission, in an Instagram post showing President Donald Trump visiting a General Motors test site in Michigan. He is the latest in a growing line of musicians objecting to the administration using their music on social media without authorisation, a dispute that highlights ongoing tension between artists and the White House over unlicensed use of their work for political messaging.

The Instagram post appeared on Monday, and after fans tagged Kahan in the comments, he responded on Tuesday saying he would "never approve" of his music being used to support the administration. The song was also used in a companion TikTok post, where the audio remains active despite apparently being muted on Instagram; his co-writer Noah Levine left a more forceful comment condemning its use. Kahan joins artists including Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Celine Dion, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones, who have similarly objected to the White House using their songs, with Perry recently criticising the use of "Firework" alongside military strike footage.